Abstract
BackgroundTo evaluate postoperative changes in retinal capillary plexus and to assess contributing factors in postoperative visual improvement using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) in patients with idiopathic epiretinal membrane (iERM) post membrane removal.MethodsPatients scheduled for vitrectomy and membrane peel for iERM were enrolled. 35 subjects were included for this study. OCT-A was used to measure the FAZ related parameters and the superficial and deep capillary plexus layers using 3 mm × 3 mm scans. Measurements were taken before surgery and at every post-surgical follow-up. The unaffected fellow eyes were used as controls. Evaluated factors included: BCVA, vessel density (VD) and retinal thickness (RT) in five regions, FAZ area, FAZ perimeter (PERIM), acircularity index (AI) and foveal vessel density (FD).ResultsCompared with the control group, the foveal vessel density (FVD) in superficial capillary plexus (SCP) was greater in the epi-retinal membrane group (P < 0.0001), whereas both groups had comparable parafoveal vessel density (PRVD) in SCP (p > 0.05). After surgery there was a reduction in the PRVD in SCP. The FVD in DCP increased and the PRVD in DCP decreased at baseline (p < 0.001). After surgery there was an increase in PRVD in DCP. By 6 months post-op, the PRVD had no statistically significant difference compared with the control group (p > 0.05). D-value of LogMAR BCVA was positively correlated with pre-op LogMAR BCVA (p < 0.0001), FVD in SCP (p < 0.001). It was negatively correlated with FAZ area (P < 0.001) and PERIM (P < 0.05).ConclusionsVitrectomy and membrane removal led to the decrease of VD in SCP and the increase of PRVD in DCP. Patients with a more severe iERM may receive greater visual improvement with surgery.Trial registrationTrial registration number (TRN) and date of registration.ChiCTR2000031289, retrospectively registered, 2020.03.26.
Highlights
To evaluate postoperative changes in retinal capillary plexus and to assess contributing factors in postoperative visual improvement using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) in patients with idiopathic epiretinal membrane post membrane removal
Correlation analysis of Difference value (D-value) of LogMAR Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) D-value of LogMAR BCVA can indicate the degree of visual improvement after surgery. It was positively correlated with preoperative LogMAR BCVA (p < 0.0001) and foveal vessel density (FVD) in superficial capillary plexus (SCP) (p < 0.001). It was negatively correlated with fovea avascular zone (FAZ) area (P < 0.001) and PERIM (P < 0.05) (Table 5)
We found the increase in FVD, while the parafoveal vessel density (PRVD) decreased in idiopathic epiretinal membrane (iERM) group
Summary
To evaluate postoperative changes in retinal capillary plexus and to assess contributing factors in postoperative visual improvement using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) in patients with idiopathic epiretinal membrane (iERM) post membrane removal. Idiopathic epiretinal membrane (iERM) is an avascular proliferative fibroblastic membrane located between the vitreous and the internal limiting membrane (ILM). It is a common cause of vision loss and metamorphopsia. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been used to monitor the postoperative recovery, observing changes in central macular thickness, integrity of ellipsoid zone and other OCT based indicators. Fluorescein angiography (FA) can be used to detect fluorescein leakage in patients with iERM, along with vascular distortion, to evaluate disturbance in vascular hemodynamics [5, 6]
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